What is Agile?
Agile might be called iterative and incremental development or adaptive project management.
Perhaps the next shortest explanation of Agile is the Agile Manifesto.
The first principle (that the creators of the Agile Manifesto identified) is:
Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer
through early and continuous delivery
of valuable software.
This principle implies that Agile is only about delivering software. By contrast, some parts of Agile are mainly or solely about projects -- projects of any sort. In this principle many will also recognize some key ideas also associated with Lean.
The Agile Manifesto
The Agile Manifesto says:
We are uncovering better ways of developing
software by doing it and helping others do it.
Through this work we have come to value:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on
the right, we value the items on the left more.
See agilemanifesto.org for more information on the Agile Manifesto and Agile Principles.
Agile Flavors:
Agile is also associated with the following:
Scrum
Extreme Programming (XP)
Agile Project Management (aka Extreme Project Management, Radical Project Management)
FDD (Feature Driven Development)
Lean (in some firms, Agile is considered the Lean method for IT projects)
Lean Software Development
Agile Modeling
Adaptive Software Development (ASD)
Crystal Clear and Other Crystal Methodologies
Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
Agile Unified Process (AUP)
Dialogue-Driven Development (d3)
EVO (evolutionary development)
Why firms adopt Agile
We have heard firms adopt Agile for the following reasons:
- Faster Time To Market (TTM)
- Faster product innovation (arguably the same as TTM, although different to some)
- Faster adaptation to change (change in all domains, external and internal)
- More Business Value from IT projects, per month or quarter
- Reduction in failure rates for IT projects (usually not phrased this way publicly)
- Better collaboration between Business and IT
- Better working environment for IT staff; higher satisfaction for IT associates
- A better way of working (we think they mean less politics, better human relationships, more honesty, more sense of purpose, etc.)
- As a way of more effectively implementing iterative and incremental development
- Better assurance of producing what the customer really needs now (not what he said he needed 9 months ago)
More information
For more information please see Resources and ScrumResources.
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development#Adaptation_of_agile_methods
for a relatively short discussion.
See also this HBR article about new product development and faster product evolution: http://apln-richmond.pbwiki.com/f/New%20New%20Prod%20Devel%20Game.pdf
This article led to the development of Scrum, and these ideas are embedded in many parts of all Agile flavors.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.